“A powerful story of love and fulfillment,
told with amazing detail and sparkling prose.
Rarely has a book moved me so completely.”
—Billy Coffey

It’s never too late
for a miracle.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Waiting: The True Story of a Lost Child, Lifetime of Longing, and a Miracle for a Mother Who Never Gave Up

In 1928, 16-year-old Minka was on a picnic in the woods when she was assaulted and raped. And suddenly this innocent farm girl—who still thought the stork brought babies—was pregnant. The baby was secretly born, named Betty Jane, and placed for adoption.

For decades, Minka wrote letters trying to get news of her daughter. She kept loving and praying for her even though she never dared believe they would meet again. Until nearly eighty years later when Minka whispered her secret, impossible prayer for the first time: Lord, I’d like to see Betty Jane before I die. I promise I won’t bother her or interrupt her life. I just want to lay eyes on her. Unbeknownst to Minka, that very same day, a judge was releasing the sealed adoption records to her 77-year-old daughter. And soon, Minka’s phone would ring.

Written by Cathy LaGrow (Minka’s granddaughter), The Waiting brings three generations of this most unusual family together over the course of a century to tell a story of faith that triumphs, forgiveness that sets us free, and love that never forgets. An unforgettable true story of enduring love and the power of prayer.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Cathy LaGrow

Cathy LaGrow first fell in love with books as a young girl, when she often chose to lose herself in a story rather than play outside. That love has never waned. She estimates that she's read more than two thousand books, and she habitually collects new titles much faster than she can read them.

Her previous writing endeavors include her blog, Windows and Paper Walls; a story for Chicken Soup for the Soul titled "A Good Mother"; and a weekly column for All the Church Ladies on a website created by journalist Karen Spears Zacharias.

In 2006, just after the birth of her first baby, Cathy and her family learned the secret her grandmother Minka Disbrow had been carrying for almost eighty years—that at age seventeen, she'd placed a baby for adoption. Cathy's mother is Minka's second child, born nearly eighteen years later.

Cathy has been married to her high school sweetheart, Dan, for almost twenty-five years. She is a licensed, nonpracticing US Customs broker and a piano teacher. She lives in Oregon, where she's often found in the kitchen baking or curled up in a chair reading. An avid runner, she sometimes runs literal circles around her two small boys at the neighborhood park. Nearly everything fascinates her.

Cindy Coloma

Cindy Coloma is a national bestselling author who has written twelve novels, including: Beautiful (2010 Christy Award finalist for Young Adults and 2011 Revolve Young Adult Tour featured book); The Salt Garden (one of Library Journal's best genre books in 2004); Song of the Brokenhearted (2013 ECPA bestseller with coauthor Sheila Walsh); Orchid House (2008 ECPA bestseller); and Winter Passing (2001 Christy Award finalist and Romantic Times Top Pick).

Cindy's nonfiction projects include collaborations on memoirs such as The Waiting and It's a Wild Life: How My Life Became a Zoo. Cindy developed and wrote the nonfiction book Renting Lacy: A Story of America's Prostituted Children coauthored with former Congresswoman Linda Smith and has also written over one hundred published articles.

Cindy is a speaker, book doctor, and writing coach. She's spoken at such events and conferences as the World Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany; Simpson University Faculty Retreat; LittWorld in Tagaytay, Philippines; and many others. In her local area, she has co-led a writer's group for sixteen years.

TESTIMONIALS

“One of the most eloquent, moving, irresistible true stories I have ever read… a magnificent story of tragedy overcome by love, hope, and perseverance.”

HOMER HICKAM, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys / October Sky

"LaGrow tells Minka's story with candor that makes the characters come alive. It is a stunning story of forgiveness, faithfulness, and persistence of hope."

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, Book Review

“A powerful story of love and fulfillment, told with amazing detail and sparkling prose. Rarely has a book moved me so completely.”

BILLY COFFEY, Author of When Mockingbirds Sing and The Devil Walks in Mattingly

“A poignant story, masterfully told with heart. Minka’s journey comes to light in this beautiful work. And it is a story to be treasured.”

LIS WIEHL, Bestselling author and FOX News legal analyst

"The Waiting reminds us that love conquers heartache and that the smallest flame of hope can lead to answered prayers. I highly recommend this book!”

TRICIA GOYER, USA Today bestselling author of over forty books, including Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish

“Every woman’s nightmare. Every mother’s wonder. . . . Cathy LaGrow’s captivating family memoir is rooted in silence and shame, where grief is denied and hope is an unspoken prayer. The Waiting is a stirring testimony of God’s goodness and grace to a troubled young girl and an inquisitive aging woman.”

KAREN SPEARS ZACHARIAS, Author of Mother of Rain

“An amazing story that proves God hears our prayers and does sometimes give us the desires of our hearts. Written with heartfelt, poetic prose, The Waiting will move you as you read about this unlikeliest of reunions.”